You Can Keep Borrowing My Heart: Ryley Week!
by camypoo
Summary: 7 Days of Ryder and Marley! New one-shot everyday this week dedicated to Ryley! Yes, that's right - it's Ryley week (Sun 3rd of Nov. - Sun. 10th of Nov.)
1. Day 1: Dream Duet

_**Happy Ryley week everybody! This is DAY 1 of Ryley Week - dream duet! Enjoy!**_

_**P.S: I also realise this might be slightly early and that is because of time differences.**_

{x}

"Duets!" Mr. Schue exclaimed, writing the word on the board in big, messy letters. He'd fix that later. _Or probably never, _Ryder thought to himself. Mr. Schue underlined the word and put the cap back on the black marker. "This week we will be doing duets!"

As soon as he said this, Marley slammed her hand (which had previously been holding Ryder's hand) onto Ryder's thigh. "We _have _to sing together this week." She whispered, looking over at Ryder with a wide smile, her eyes shining.

Ryder felt his stomach flip. That beautiful smile was too much to handle… and the way her eyes sparkled as she smiled just made it even harder not to scream out to the whole world how cute she was. Ryder seriously couldn't believe his luck. "Of course." Ryder nodded in the direction of his girlfriend.

"You can sing anything you want, with whoever you want." Mr. Schue continued, pointing around the room at every single person.

"Yes!" Marley mumbled, facing Ryder and holding her hand up. Ryder leaned over and high-fived her, linking his fingers into hers instead of pulling away. Marley blushed bright red and ducked her head, making her brown hair cover her face.

"And at the end, we'll all vote and whoever wins will get the opportunity to be the power couple for the upcoming Nationals!" Weak clapping began to echo around the choir room. No one was really paying attention; they were all trying to find their duet partners.

Ryder could just tell that Marley was bursting to get her ideas out in the open. She was lying back in her seat all relaxed, but Ryder could tell by the way she kept on squeezing his hand every couple of seconds that she was anxious. "Just go, Mar." Ryder chuckled. Marley sat up immediately, her hand still resting on his knee.

"Okay, so we've been together for a little bit over a year and I have been waiting for this moment – to sing a duet with you – since the moment we made it official. So I kind of have a lot of ideas-"

"Slow down for a second, darl." Ryder whispered, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to her nose. Marley laughed and shook her head.

"Okay, sorry. I'm just excited. I mean, we've sung duets before in front of the Glee club but I feel as if this one has to be... amazing." Marley breathed out a sigh and looked into Ryder's eyes. "We have to do an amazing song."

"Let's narrow it down, I think we-" Ryder began.

"It has to be a love song." Marley nodded pointedly at Ryder, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Gee, Marls, a bit fussy today aren't we?" Ryder laughed, giving her hand a squeeze. Marley looked kind of taken aback and cursed quietly under her breath, chastising herself for seeming annoying. "No, Mar, I was joking, I wanna do this, too!"

"Oh, okay." Marley laughed and shook her head, shaking the previous scene out of her head. Let's forget her stupid-ness, she offered to herself. "Well… come over to mine after school. Perhaps we could even do our duet tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure. I think we could do that."

{x}

"So…" Marley whispered, hitting the pillow underneath her head to fluff it up before falling back down onto it, her purple notebook clutched in between her hands.

"We should probably get started." Ryder whispered, staring at the ceiling and then looking over at his flustered girlfriend. She reached across and smoothed down his messed up hair before draping her hand over his chest.

"Yeah." Marley nodded, staring back over at her boyfriend. They'd spent the last half an hour making out in Marley's room instead of doing what they were supposed to be doing. They'd both come in, prepared to rehearse (Marley even had her notebook) but it slowly turned from just talking, to kissing, to hungry and sloppy kissing all over each other's bodies. Their main objective was pushed to the side, but now they were going to get back on track.

"What's songs did we have again?" Ryder asked, taking the notebook from Marley's hands and opening it to the middle and finding one of Marley's songs that she had written. At the top of the page it read, _Straight For Your Heart _and in the top left corner of the page was a little _For Ryder _written so small it was barely readable. "Why don't we sing a song you wrote?" Ryder suggested, scanning his eyes over the lyrics. It seemed sweet – the words he could understand through the scribbles anyway.

"No, I don't want that at all." Marley snapped, taking the book back from Ryder almost immediately. Ryder sat up and looked down at his girlfriend, watching her hug the book more protectively against her chest than Ryder had ever seen her before. "We shouldn't- we shouldn't sing a song written by me. They're not even that good anyway." Marley shrugged.

"Marls, they're fricken amazing. I've heard them before and-"

Marley began to talk over the top of Ryder, not bothering to listen to him complement her. "So here's the list of songs that I was thinking about!" She shouted, opening her notebook so the final page of it. She laid it down on the bed and ran her finger over her words on the page. "We have six there at the moments: _Bless The Broken Road _by Rascall Flatts-"

"Never heard that song in my life." Ryder whispered, nodding at Marley to continue.

"_All This Time _by Britt Nicole," She said slowly, looking up at Ryder, waiting for him to interrupt but he didn't. He just nodded, waiting for Marley to continue. "_How Deep Is Your Love _by the Bee Gees, _Crazy In Love _by Third D3gree-"

"Not Third D3gree, no way." Ryder shook his head frantically. Marley raised her eyebrows at him, asking him silently why he didn't want to Third D3gree. "They're rappers, Marls and I know that we will never live up to their expectations."

"Good point; I'll cross that off the list then." Marley scribbled off that option with the pen which had magically appeared by her side.

"What are the two others?" Ryder asked.

"_If My Heart Was a House _by Owl City and finally, _Heart's Content _by Brandi Carlile." Marley grabbed her pen, ready to write new ideas or cross off some more of her ideas.

"Not Brandi Carlile, no – that song is weird," Marley quickly scribbled off the song from her list. She was going to leave this completely up to Ryder, because she knew he was going to make a great song choice. "Not Britt Nicole either – she's a Christian artist and that song is about God, man. I don't want to be singing about how much I love God," Ryder ranted, barely taking a breath. He didn't even stop, he just continued. "Not the Bee Gees either, they are old. And not Rascall Flatts. Who are they even?"

"That… just leaves Adam Young…?" Marley questioned, looking up at Ryder. Of course he was going to choose the one that sounded most like a guy.

"Owl City, yeah." Ryder smiled, patting his back pocket to find his Ipod. He tugged it out and threw it in front of Marley. "I have _If My Heart Was a House_ on here, do you want to start practice now? Only if you're okay with it though."

"Owl City is perfect." Marley shouted, leaning forward and pressing her lips to Ryder's. "Let's do this!" Marley made a cute face – scrunching up her nose and holding up her fists – before she reached for the Ipod. "We're going to rock Owl City so hard, I know it."

"Yep." Ryder agreed. He watched his girlfriend carefully as she scrolled through the songs on his Ipod. She was just so… beautiful and he couldn't get over how lucky he was to have her and to love her. Everything he was singing to her would be true, he just knew it.

{x}

"So… who wants to go first today?" Mr, Schue asked, setting down his briefcase on the piano and staring at the students in his choir room.

"Me, Mr. Schue!" Ryder held up Marley's hand and waved it about, making it flop from side to side. He made his voice higher to make him sound like a girl, trying to mock Marley.

"Oh, shut up, you idiot." Marley laughed, pulling her arm down and elbowing him in the ribs. Ryder tried not to let a laugh slip out and pretended to be hurt, rubbing the spot where she had elbowed him.

"Ryder and Marley? You ready?" Mr. Schue asked the couple. Marley smiled and nodded gracefully, bouncing her legs up and down in excitement. Ryder leaned across and placed his hand on her knee-cap.

"Calm your farm." He smiled, standing up and pulling her with him. Marley grabbed onto his forearm tightly and watched him with his eyes. He led her through the steps and chairs of the choir room and stopped in the center of the room in front of everyone else. Everyone was staring at them, waiting for something to happen.

"I bet you seven dollars this is going to be a love song," Kitty muttered to the new girl next to her, nudging her ribs. Ryder shook his head and backed away from Marley, letting her hand slip from his. Marley smiled in reply – wow, her smile was so god damn beautiful.

Ryder couldn't take his eyes off of his girlfriend as he backed away from her. All he wanted was to run closer to her and pull her into a large hug.

The music began and he shook his head to get himself in the zone of the song. "For Marley," He muttered under his breath before he began singing, "_You're the sky that I fell through, and I remember the view whenever I'm holding you,_" He didn't take his eyes from her as he sung, watching her face turn red. She was so damn adorable. He was in love with her, no doubt about it.

Marley began to sing then, facing Ryder. "_The sun hung from a string, looking down on the world as it warmed over everything._" Marley took a step forward and held her hand out to Ryder for the next line. He stepped forward as well and with a smile, took his hand in Marley's.

"_Chills run down my spine as our fingers entwine and your sighs harmonize with mine," _They looked right into each other's eyes and felt their hearts pounding in their chests and their stomachs flipping inside of them. It was like they were the same person.

Ryder tugged Marley closer and grabbed her waist lightly, beginning to dance around the room with her. Marley let out a giggle and wrapped her arms around his neck. "_Unmistakably, I can still feel your heart beat fast when you dance with me._"

Ryder leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Marley's neck, continuing to circle around the room. They sung to each other as they danced, unable to stop smiling as they poured their hearts out to each other.

Marley couldn't wipe the smile off her face as they sung and Ryder couldn't stop staring at her gorgeous… everything. This couldn't have been more perfect.

The music began to get faster so Ryder freed himself from Marley's embrace and grabbed both of her hands in his and held them between him and her. "_Circle me and the needle moves gracefully,"_

"_Back and forth_," Marley sang, sliding in closer to her lover."_If my heart was a compass you'd be north._"

Ryder took his right hand from Marley's and pushed her silky hair behind her ear, singing with her the last couple of lines. "_Risk it all because I'll catch you if you fall, wherever you go, if my heart was a house you'd be home." _Marley shook her head to push the hair back in front of her ear and blushed a bright shade of red, embarrassed.

The music suddenly stopped and the whole room went silent. "_If my heart was a house, you'd be home._"

The room erupted in claps and cheers and the shout of one blonde-haired cheerleader screaming about how she was going to get seven dollars. Ryder and Marley seemed to block out the background noise and just remained in the front of the room, staring into each other's eyes. "I love you so much." Marley whispered, admiring the shade of brown Ryder's eyes were. They were like chocolate.

"I love you so much, too, baby." Ryder whispered, sliding his hands up her neck and holding onto her cheeks lightly. He leaned down and gave her a sweet and passionate kiss on the lips, their noses rubbing up against each other's.

No doubt about it – this moment was insanely perfect.

{x}

**_That is the end of DAY 1! Hope the duet was enjoyable and just in case you didn't catch it above, the song was _**_If My Heart Was a House __**by Owl City. Check back here for the rest of the week to see more of my things for Ryley Week! (I've been excited about this for ages, excuse the over usage of exclamation marks).**__  
**-Camryn x**_


	2. Day 2: Kid Ryley

_**This is day 2 of Ryley Week - kid!ryley, which is Ryder and Marley as little kids! Hope you enjoy this!**_

_**And I apologise again for the early posting of this - reasons why I hate living where I do.**_

{x}

There was a knock on the door. And then the doorbell rang. Then the knock came again.

Marley raced down the stairs, holding onto the wall and jumped from the second last step to the mat in front of her. She took an extra step and stood on her tip-toes to reach for the doorknob. She turned it right and then left and the door eventually opened, revealing Ryder and his mother. He had a beaming smile on his face and was holding a small little Winnie The Pooh bag on his back.

"Hi!" Marley screamed, waving her hand frantically and leaning forward for a hug. She wrapped her arms around the slightly taller boy's neck and rocked him from side to side. Ryder's Mom laughed quietly.

"Hi, Marley!" Ryder screamed, pushing her off of him. "Cooties, Marley, cooties." He sighed, rubbing his bare arms and shuddering.

"Poopyhead." Marley scowled, poking her tongue out at him.

"You're a pooyhead." Ryder shot back, poking his tongue out in reply like she had done. He couldn't help but smile when he put his tongue back in his mouth.

"You're… you're a poopyhead." Marley couldn't control her laughter and didn't bother to stick her tongue out at him again. She figured Ryder had had enough of poking her tongue out for the hour. Perhaps later on in the play date.

Ryder laughed and jumped into the house next to her, smiling right at her. She was so pretty; Ryder couldn't believe that someone could be pretty like that. Especially his best friend. The boys at school teased him about his best friend being a girl, but he didn't care – she was pretty and cool and they were best friends.

"Bye Mom." Ryder smiled, not even looking over at his Mom. He reached down and shook her forearm. "Let's go to your room." He whispered right in her face, spitting on her nose. Marley wiped it off with the back of her right hand and nodded excitedly.

"Bye Mrs. Lynn!" Marley shouted, shutting the door violently. It slammed shut and then it was just Ryder and Marley in the foyer of her house.

"Come on, Marley, let's go to your room." Ryder whined, pulling on her arm and dragging her to the stairs.

"Okay." Marley grinned and followed Ryder up the stairs. They raced each other up the stairs to Marley's room on the left. Ryder opened the door and slowly walked into her plain room, looking around. He'd been in here before but now Marley seemed to have a couple more toys since last time and he was so curious to have a look.

"I like your tiger." Ryder reached up and grabbed a soft toy tiger from the tall shelf above him. Marley smiled and jumped onto her bed, watching Ryder pat the tiger's head softly.

"His name's Tyler." Marley laughed bashfully, swinging her legs back and forth, the back of her shoes hitting the frame of her bed.

"I would have named him Tigger." Ryder shrugged, throwing the tiger back on the shelf recklessly. He continued to scan the black shelf lining the room and pulled down another one of Marley's toys. This time it was a fat brown sheep with a little hat on it's head.

"That's Scotty – Mommy got it for me yesterday." Marley nodded, grabbing onto her floral bed sheets. She sometimes wished she had nicer bed sheets – perhaps a _Barbie_ one like that mean girl in their class, Kitty.

"I like the name." Ryder laughed, poking the little hat on the sheep's small head.

'Thanks. I thought of it myself, Ryder." Marley placed her hand over her heart and ducked her head down, watching her hair fall in front of her eyes.

"Nice." Ryder commented, placing the sheep back on the shelf and going to sit next to Marley on the bed. He got comfy and fell back, looking at the ceiling.

Marley looked over at him and smiled again before falling back herself, her hair fanning out behind her head. "I love my soft toys." She sighed, looking over at Ryder. Ryder stared back at her and bit his lip.

"I love you." He let a smile creep onto his face. He didn't really know what love was yet, but he was _fairly sure _he loved Marley. She was his best friend after all.

"Ryder," Marley whined, sitting up and scooting back on the bed so her bum was lined up with Ryder's head. Ryder pulled himself up and sat parallel to Marley, pouting and confused. "Only married people say that to each other." Marley lowered her voice, raising her eyebrows at Ryder.

Ryder bit his lip again and looked at Marley for a second before an idea came to him. "Let's get married then."

"What?" Marley whispered, raising her eyebrows. Gee, she had always wanted to get married! And to her best friend, that was even better!

"Let's get married right now. And if we hang out tomorrow, we can haves kids!" Ryder shouted, reaching his hand out and placing it on Marley's shoulder. "And you have to take my last name, since that's how it goes, okay?"

"Why can't you have my last name?" Marley pouted, crossing her arms sadly.

Ryder pondered for a moment before agreeing. "Okay. I like that idea. I take your last name." Ryder smiled and jumped off the bed. "Come on Marley! Let's get married!" Ryder screamed. He grabbed her hand and pulled her off of the bed. Marley squeezed Ryder's hand and opened the door to her bedroom.

"I need to get my wedding dress!" Marley screeched excitedly. Her dreams were coming true – she was _getting married! _

"Go to the bathroom and make one! I'll be in your room with my gwoomsmwen." Ryder smiled, dropping her hand and rushing back into her room. Before he shut the door, he leaned forward and pecked her cheek lightly. "I love you."

"I wuv you, too." Marley smiled before Ryder slammed the door in her face. "Yay!" Marley whispered under her breath and looked around her, pondering about where to get a wedding dress from…

She paced the hallway back and forth before peering into the bathroom and finding four rolls of toilet paper seated above the toilet. That was it! She ran into the bathroom and took one roll of toilet paper, unraveling it. The whole roll fell at her feet and landed in a big pile over her Converse shoes. She picked up the soft paper and wrapped it around her torso and slowly down her legs until I reached her knees.

She was about to rip it off before realizing she wouldn't be able to hold the dress together. So she began to twirl the dress around her clothes again and tucked the top of the dress into the t-shirt she was wearing. "Good." Marley whispered to herself.

She ripped the paper off from the rest of the roll and picked up where she left off, sticking strands of the paper into the hairband she was wearing so it looked like a veil. Marley smiled and touched her hairband lightly. This was so exciting!

She waddled to the door of the bathroom and opened it. She walked out and saw Ryder standing by the door to her room, holding a little paper flower in his hands.

"Hi, Ryder." She whispered, brushing down her toilet paper dress down to get rid of the creases. She walked towards Ryder, a small smile on her face.

"Hey, Marley… you look pretty." Ryder said, walking forward to greet his "wife".

"Thanks." Marley whispered, placing her hand on Ryder's shoulder. She gazed up at him and pouted. They were now silent, both not saying anything. It was kind of awkward. "Have you ever been to a wedding?" Marley asked sheepishly, scratching her ear.

"No…" Ryder replied softly, looking away from Marley. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his bottom lip was sticking out. "You haven't either, have you?" Ryder asked, moving his gaze back to Marley. She shook her head, some of the toilet paper strands falling from her hairband. Ryder bent over and picked them up, sticking them back in her hair as best as he could – he was never good with hair, despite all of the time he spent with his sisters.

"What I've seen from TV," Marley began, watching Ryder carefully. Ryder touched her hair lightly and pushed another strand of the toilet paper through the black headband. "People kiss and then they're married."

Ryder shrugged and touched the strands of hair in front of her face, clearing them so he could see her big blue eyes. "Let's get married then." Ryder let out a deep sigh and stepped forward an inch so his face was only centimeters from Marley's. Marley gave a wide smile and stood on her tip-toes, pecking Ryder on the lips lightly.

She went back down and gazed up at Ryder – her now husband. "Wow." Ryder laughed, gazing at Marley. "Hi, wifey."

"Hi, husbandy." Marley chuckled, wiping her forehead with her hand. "We're married now!" She couldn't believe this – she had a husband! And his name was Ryder Lynn! Her best friend!

"What should do to celeb- cele- cel-" Ryder began, stuttering on his words. He really wasn't good with big words. He frowned at himself and looked down at Marley. She shrugged, unable to find the word he was looking for. "Can we go ask your Mommy for ice-cream?" Ryder reached down and grabbed Marley's hand, like he'd seen his Dad do to his Mom.

"Yes! Let's do that for our wedding present!" Marley shouted, bouncing up and down in her spot. She reached up and kissed his lips again before kissing his cheek quickly.

"Yeah!" Ryder shouted, running down the stairs. Marley laughed and followed behind him, ripping off her toilet paper wedding dress and leaving it on the stairs.

"Wait, Ryder," Marley pulled Ryder to a stop after the first flight of stairs, pulling him back to her, "I kissed you again… does that mean that we got married again?" Her eyes were wide, like she had found gold in the ground at her feet.

Ryder looked kind of shocked as he looked up at Marley, his mouth open slightly. "I guess it does." Ryder muttered, looking down at Marley's feet before looking back up to her face. "Should we get married again?"

"I think we should." Marley nodded excitedly, her bright white smile radiating throughout the small area they were standing in. Ryder leaned down and kissed her lips for a third time, his hand accidentally brushing her cheek. "We just got married again." Marley laughed, breathing over Ryder's face.

Ryder nodded and grabbed Marley's hand again, linking his fingers with hers. "Now come on, let's go get some ice-cream!" Ryder shouted. "I bags chocolate!" He screamed.

"No fair!" Marley whined, punching her husband in the arm. "I want chocolate!" She screamed, stomping her foot on the ground. She stopped running and crossed her arms, dropping Ryder's hand.

"No, come on. We'll both get chocolate!" Ryder offered with a smile. Marley smiled too and began to run into the kitchen with Ryder.

"Hey, Ryder," Marley paused, pulling on his arm before they went into the kitchen to see her Mom. Ryder groaned, annoyed about being pulled back to a stop for a third time. "Can we have kids tomorrow, please?" She blinked at him and pouted, begging.

"Of course!" Ryder shouted. "We can have kids every day if you want!"

{x}

_**Hope you guys liked! Please leave a review, it's truly appreciated! Ryley 5everr. Do check this space again tomorrow if you want to see another Ryley week fic!  
****-Camryn xx**_


	3. Day 3: Movie TV AU

_**This is day 3 of Ryley Week - movie/tv au! I decided for this one to have Ryder and Marley take the parts of Amber and Bray from one of my all time favorite TV shows, The Tribe. (I was going to do Under The Dome but it got really complicated and so confusing and gory).**_

_**Enjoy this and don't be afraid to ask me if anything doesn't make sense - I've watched The Tribe for years and I feel like I left out details in this.**_

{x}

"Marley," He panted, pressing down on her shoulders to make sure she wasn't able to be seen from behind the boxes that hid them from plain sight. He was out of breath – they'd been running for a while and he was also scared out of his mind. He couldn't let Marley know that though. "Marley, we gotta run again."

"No." Marley protested, tugging on his shirt. Ryder rubbed the side of his head where the painted face designs were (these distinguished which tribe you were from) and gave her a strange look, brushing down her hair with the hand on her shoulder. "We can't, Ryder. What if- what if you get caught?"

"I won't, trust me. It's you we're keeping safe anyway." He muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"No, Ryder, I'm not happy with this – you mean so much to me and everyone on the mall, okay? You're our savior, not me." Marley whined, her voice low. She gripped onto Ryder's thigh with her left hand and with her right grabbed the bag on her back.

The sirens suddenly began wailing from down the street and Marley and Ryder both heard the cheers of the Locos. "Power and Chaos! Power and Chaos!"

"Get down." Ryder whispered, pushing Marley down and shielding her back by leaning over her. He kissed her shoulder and rubbed her spine frantically, trying to comfort her and keep her calm. That was Ryder's duty when things got a bit crazy around here. Things had been crazy since the outbreak.

Three years back, there had been a deadly virus that had spread all over the world which had killed all of the adults by making them age rapidly. This left the children and teenagers to look after themselves. No one had been ready, it had happened so suddenly. Things began to change that year, and now nothing was at all the same; the teenagers belonged in the Tribes - who were like their new families and everything was scarce.

There were good Tribes and bad Tribes: many of them were good, but there were a few bad tribes in the bunch. Take the Locos, for example. They went around praising Zoot, a crazy teenager who had killed many people and drowned after the outbreak. There was also the Demon Dogs, who just liked to bash people up.

With the good tribe and the bad tribe wars, that was when Ryder and Marley met for the first time. Since then, they'd grown close and began dating, and Ryder wasn't afraid to say he was in love with the beautiful blue-eyed girl. They were the leaders of their tribe, the Mallrats. And since the beginning, they had been the best leaders there were.

They fought together, and throughout the thick and the thin they stayed together. And that's how they knew that they were meant for each other until the very end.

"Stay quiet." Ryder muttered, rubbing her back still. Marley made a quiet whimper, about to fight back about how Ryder should have been protecting himself but stopped; they'd had this argument before and every single time, Ryder won. He was always right.

"I love you so much, you know that." Marley whispered, nuzzling her head into Ryder's chest. The sirens were growing louder and the chanting sounded scarier and more rumbling than before.

"I love you so much, too, babe." Ryder whispered frantically, cradling his girlfriend tightly. They felt the ground shake as the Locos ran by with their police car, the sirens on full ball.

Slowly, the sound disappeared and so did the chanting, barely audible now. Marley tried to shake off Ryder but he was still being wary. The Loco's could have come back. He eventually let go of her and loosely wrapped his arm around her shoulder again.

"You okay?" He asked, watching her pink face. He pushed some stray hair behind her ear and ran his hand down her cheek.

"Yep, you?" She replied, leaning forward and pressing her face into his shoulder.

"Good." His reply was short and simple, like always. Ryder didn't really care much for himself, Marley found. "Let's get back to the Mall, quickly." Ryder stood and helped Marley to her feet, his fingers intertwining with hers.

"Alright, we better tell the rest of them about this." Marley breathed out, pulling herself closer to Ryder. They began to walk down a tight alleyway, both of them barely fitting in there. Ryder kept on moving his head to check back to see if Marley was okay.

Sometimes he was too caring.

They got through the tight alleyway and darted through the old real-estate agent. It was a shortcut. Marley squeezed Ryder's hand tighter as they trekked through. Eventually they came to the doors of the mall. It was barely a walk but every time Marley went outdoors she couldn't help but feel… frightened.

"Thank God we're home." Marley stood on her tip-toes and kissed Ryder's cheek softly before they came back to the front of the mall. "That was so scary." Marley ducked under the opening and pulled Ryder through after her, her hand still in his.

"I know." Ryder replied, pulling Marley closer to him before she could walk up the stairs and call a Tribe meeting. "Are you okay, Mar?" Ryder placed his hands on her thin waist and pulled her up against him. She felt her breath get caught in her throat.

"Yes, Ryder, I'm alright. You've got to stop asking me that." She laughed (oh gee, that laugh made his heart melt) and pressed her hands against Ryder's chest.

"I'm sorry," Ryder muttered, "I just- I really love you and this world is dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."

"With you around, I don't think I can get hurt." Marley joked, burying her head into Ryder's shoulder. Ryder let out a quiet laugh before he went silent, his tone turning stern.

"It's dangerous out there, Marley." He began, running his fingers over her hips. "You could easily get hurt or even die out there. I'm not risking it." He pushed her head off of his shoulder and kissed her forehead worriedly. They'd had this conversation before, but Marley just wanted Ryder to stop being so protective of her! She loved him but she had her freedom, too, in this new messed up world.

"Ryder, Marley!" Rachel (possibly the bossiest in the tribe with the prettiest facial paint – a black star on the top of her eye, with a black squiggly line down her cheek) came running down the stairs with Santana – bitchy Latina with the green eyeliner wings and bright lipstick – on her tail. "Why were you gone so long? Is everything okay?"

"Fine." Ryder pulled his hands from Marley and took off his jacket, throwing it on the broken water feature of the mall. He gave a sigh and rubbed his eye, being careful not to smudge the design down the side of his face. He wished that he didn't have to have the design there. He looked at Marley, waiting for her to explain.

"We need to call a tribe meeting to talk about what happened while we were out." Marley nodded, taking off her jacket as well and throwing it on top of Ryder's, leaving her in a crop top and jeans. She leaned into Ryder and rested her head on his shoulder. Ryder rubbed her bare arm.

"I've got it covered." Santana gave a smile and pulled a cooking pan from behind her back. It was almost like it had come out of nowhere. She put it in between the railings of the stairs and hit it against the metal. "Tribe meeting!" She screamed. Marley covered her ears and looked at Ryder. He looked uncomfortable with the noise but stayed standing tall.

Everyone began to rush down the stairs, all scared from being pulled out of their calm moments. "What's going on?" Jake screamed, running down to Santana and placing his hand on her arm to stop her from making the racket.

"We've just been out and we need to report what happened – and I need to tell you guys about the dangers of the Locos, okay?" Ryder said confidently. Marley noticed he seemed like a different person in front of the tribe as a whole during meetings.

"We know the dangers." Kitty replied, admiring her nails. "We can get killed, blah blah blah." Kitty rolled her eyes and flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Marley and I nearly got caught," Ryder began, standing on top of the water fountain. He pulled Marley up next to him and grabbed her hand tightly, to reassure her. Marley gave everyone a smile. "We managed to hide before we got caught and killed, but we're fine. Doesn't mean any of you guys will be."

"Yes." Marley nodded, trying to sound as commanding and professional as Ryder. "Just because some of us get away, doesn't mean you all will."

"That's why I am setting a new rule," Ryder raised his voice and threw his arm around Marley. She reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling it over her shoulder a little bit more. "No one is allowed to leave the mall unless accompanied by me, Sam or Jake."

"Wait," Marley said, looking up at her boyfriend and scanning over his face. "What about when you and me go out to converse with tribes? Or what if Kitty and I go again?"

"This is so unfair, you dickhead!" Kitty screeched, a mortified look on her face.

"No, it's keeping you safe." Ryder said, trying to reason with Kitty. Marley meant what she said before: he was too overprotective sometimes.

"You know what?" Marley shouted, throwing his arm off of her and taking a step back on the feature. She frowned at Ryder. "No, I don't like this idea. It's almost like you think you mean nothing, Ryder, that everyone is more important than you. That's not true – you're the heart and soul of this tribe and you mean so much to everyone and I _love _you. You're everything to me and you can't keep putting yourself in danger like this!"

"Marley-" Ryder held out his hands.

"No! I'm sick of you treating yourself this way!" Marley screamed before jumping off the water feature and running through the tribe up the stairs to go to her room.

"Marley," Ryder sighed and ran his hand through his hair, making it stick up. "I'm such an idiot, why do I have to do this?" Ryder shook his head and looked away, quickly forgetting about the tribe in front of him. He jumped down from the feature and grabbed his and Marley's jackets. He pushed through Kitty and Finn and ran up the stairs.

Running around the side of the stairs, he walked through the curtains set up in front of his and Marley's room and opened the sliding wooden door.

Inside there he found Marley, pacing around the room with tears streaked down her face. Ryder hated to see her cry - it hurt him more than the Locos ever could. "Marley," Ryder sighed and shook his head. He threw the jackets on the chest near the door and walked towards her.

"I'm sick of you thinking you aren't good enough, Ryder." Marley sobbed, facing away from Ryder and to the wall. "You are good enough, babe. Why can't you see that you're amazing?"

"No, I think I'm okay. My self-confidence isn't the problem." Ryder said softly, walking forward and cautiously wrapping his arm around her waist. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and rocked her from side to side carefully. "It's the fact I hate seeing people hurt… and I hate seeing you cry."

Marley sniffled and reached her hand up to wipe her tears. "I still don't like you putting yourself up for murder like this." She mumbled, shaking her hair in Ryder's face.

"I'm not putting myself up for murder. I doubt the Locos are capable of that, to be honest. They're too dumb." Ryder chuckled and spun Marley around so he could see her eyes. They were filled to the brim with tears, but still remained so beautiful and shiny. Her face was streaked with tears and on the left side of her face the big red love-heart had been smudged and just looked like blood dropping down her face.

"You're right." Marley smiled and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around Ryder's neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you."

"No need to be sorry, and I love you, too." Ryder pulled back and kissed her forehead softly, sniffing her strawberry scented hair.

"Should we go back to the meeting?" Marley asked innocently, staring at Ryder's shoulder. She traced her finger over the shoulder bone and bit her lip. She didn't actually want to go back – she just wanted to stay with Ryder for the time being.

"Nah, they're fine without us." Ryder shrugged and led Marley to the bed, lying her down. She crawled up the bed and rested her head against her pillow. "Let's just cuddle, huh?" Marley let a smile cross her face and gave a nod, wiping up her tears.

Ryder leaned forward and kissed away a tear on her plain cheek before kissing her lips softly. "Love you." He muttered, falling in behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Love you, too." Marley whispered.

{x}

The tribe had had a big dinner together and they'd discussed the plans for the new rule. It went just as Ryder had planned and this time no one had objected – not even Rachel who normally wanted things to go her way.

After dinner they'd all gone back to their rooms. Marley and Ryder were still up, just having talked the whole night away. It seemed like it was midnight now and all was quiet in the mall.

"Hey, Ryder," Marley whispered half way through their conversation about music. "Do you think- do you think we're ever going to get married?"

"Of course." Ryder replied without hesitation. He sat up and looked down at his girlfriend, tracing his finger over the side of her face and down her jaw. "We're going to get married and we're going to live happily ever after. I have it all planned out already." He took a breath and looked down at her hand. "And there was something I was going to ask you-"

Before Ryder could continue, there was a loud smash that sounded similar to the gates of the mall crashing down or being broken. Marley sat bolt upright and exchanged a worried glance with Ryder. She wanted to hear what he was going to ask her, but obviously something else was happening.

"Quickly, let's see what's going on." Ryder muttered, jumping out of the bed as fast as he could. Marley gripped onto his arm and pulled herself out of bed, following him out of the room. They ran out, pushed through the curtain and eventually got to the balcony. Everything was deadly silent.

Ryder ran around to the stairs and darted down them, pulling on Marley's hand to make sure she was right next to him. He stopped at the balcony before the stairs split in two and gazed ahead. The sight in front of him made his heart stop.

The rest of the tribe came running down the stairs after him, all wondering what the noise was. As soon as each one spotted the source of the noise, they stopped dead in their tracks. They were all too afraid to talk.

"Ryder," Marley swallowed the growing lump in her throat and felt her body go cold. The Locos were _not _standing right in front of them, crowding the water feature.

Ryder's heart began to pound out of fear. He had to have fallen asleep. This was a dream, it had to be. He was just going to ask Marley to-

"Mallrats!" The leader of the Locos, Sebastian, shouted, stepping onto the water feature. He hit the club in his hand against his palm and smiling evilly up at their fearful faces. "Well, well, well, if we haven't hacked our way into your humble abode."

"Get out of here." Jake spoke up, the first of them to do that. He stepped down next to Ryder and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Get out of here. Now."

"Oh, well, no." Sebastian laughed. The rest of the tribe behind him chuckled, all looking just as evil as their leader. "We're not getting out of here until we get what we want."

"What do you want?" Ryder replied, just to sound strong even though he was so frightened. Shaking with fear almost.

"We want your leader. Now." Sebastian smiled. His eyes ran over the whole tribe, standing fearfully on the steps. "Which one of you is it?"

"No, Ryder, don't do this." Marley could feel her heart beginning to break and tears beginning to spill over her eyes. He was going to try and protect the whole tribe but putting himself up, she just knew it. He couldn't do this. He just couldn't. "Please don't babe." She couldn't stand to lose him – not now, not ever.

"It's me." Ryder's voice cracked. He didn't want to leave Marley or anyone else. He loved every single one of the people surrounding him and he didn't want to leave them alone. Especially not Marley. Just because he had told her they were going to get married… but he had to. To protect the love of his life and the rest of the tribe. He couldn't let his family get hurt. Ryder wouldn't be able to stand it if anyone else got hurt because of him.

"Ah, good. Come down here, little Bieber." Sebastian waved his hand to signal Ryder down. Ryder nodded sadly, afraid to leave the love of his life. He looked back at her and slipped his hand out of Marley's, giving her a pleading look which seemed to have meant _Don't miss me and I love you._

"No," Marley begged, going to run to Ryder as he walked down the steps but was pulled back by Rachel and Santana. They gripped her arms tightly as she fidgeted, trying to catch up to Ryder. "No, don't go, Ryder! I love you, don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry!" Ryder screamed back. He was crying, she could see it in the light from the moon coming through the skylight. This couldn't be happening – this was her worst nightmare. Ryder was not leaving her. It hurt too much to think about.

Sebastian grabbed onto Ryder's collar and pulled him closer. "Thanks, Mallrats." He smirked, pulling Ryder out of the mall through the broken gate.

"No!" Marley screamed, fighting against Rachel and Santana. "I love you, Ryder! I love you so much! Don't leave me please! You can't leave me!"

"I'm sorry!" Ryder yelled back, fighting against Sebastian just a little bit, barely using his strength – he didn't want to risk anyone else getting injured or kidnapped. "I love you, too, Mar. More than anything, remember that. You're always the only person I'll ever love and you deserve so much-" He stopped talking and took a step forward in order to delay leaving. "-you deserve so much better."

"Don't you dare say that." Marley growled, trying to push forward. She could feel her chest tightening the more she cried. She wanted to sob but she didn't want to show everyone her weakness. "You can't say that to me! I love you!" Marley screamed.

With Marley still sobbing and screaming at Ryder, the rest of the tribe gathered at the bottom of the stairs and the rest of the Locos outside waiting to go back to headquarters, Ryder thought up a plan in his head. _It's worth a try. The worst _that_ could happen is I get killed._

"I love you and you're saying I deserve better than the person that I love? This is stupid, Ryder!" Marley screamed, kicking Santana in the shin as she tried to escape.

Ryder stopped fidgeting and stood deadly still, refusing to move. "Come on, you big idiot." Sebastian snapped, pulling on Ryder's singlet top and tugging him backwards. Suddenly Ryder brought his hand up and elbowed Sebastian in the face, hitting his nose. It made a loud crack that seemed to echo.

"Ah." Sebastian growled, holding his hand over his nose. It was bleeding heavily, the blood dripping over his painted face. "What was that?" He screamed. Marley stopped fidgeting in her spot and watched Ryder carefully, her eyes still filled with tears and her face streaked with them.

"What was he thinking?" Santana whispered, growling it into Marley's ear. Marley kept her eyes on Ryder whose eyes were filled with rage and what looked like… sadness. She saw a hint of hope on his face and realized he had a plan. This might not be the end after all.

"Trust him." Marley muttered, staring right into Ryder's eyes. He was looking back at her, taking deep breaths. His shoulders were moving up and down as he breathed and it made him look so strong and manly. Not like he wasn't those things, but he looked so _fierce._

Ryder took a step back and landed on Sebastian's feet, keeping him still. "What are you doing?" Sebastian screamed. Ryder gave a sly smile which Sebastian couldn't see and elbowed him in the stomach, making him clutch his stomach and fall to his knees. Ryder brought his foot up and kicked him in the face and another crack came from some bone.

Sebastian looked like he was in a daze, obviously out of it from the amount of abuse that had been put onto his face. He fell to the side and stared up at the stairs, his eyes going crossed and blood dripping from his nose and mouth.

Ryder looked down at him and took in a few deep breaths. He was kind of confused at how quickly things had changed and flipped upside down, but he accepted it anyway. He realized that the Locos outside would be beginning to get confused so he ran forward and observed the gates to the mall. It had come off the railings just a little bit but it'd be easy to put back up.

He bent down and quickly pushed it into place before wiping his hands on his trackpants. "Ryder," Marley's sobbing voice echoed through the mall, the only sound anyone was making.

"Marley," Ryder replied, spinning around and staring right at his tearful girlfriend. "You okay?" He asked. Everyone stared right at Marley and gave her worried looks.

She let out another loud sob and freed herself from Santana and Rachel's grip. She ran down the stairs frantically and darted towards Ryder, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her face into his shoulder "Sh," Ryder whispered, cradling her close and running his hand up and down her back.

"I thought I was going to lose you." She muttered, kissing his neck lightly. "I couldn't stand losing you."

"You're not going to lose me, Mar," Ryder pulled away and tucked her messy hair behind her ear. "Not now, not ever alright?" Marley nodded and cuddled Ryder again, never wanting to let go again. Marley, I have to ask you a question." Ryder whispered against her neck, breathing against her and making her shiver.

"Yeah?" She hiccupped, still gripping onto Ryder tightly.

"Will you marry me?" Ryder asked. Marley froze, her arms still looped around Ryder's neck. She gave him an extra squeeze and began to cry even harder, sobs racking her body. Ryder placed his hand on her back and pulled her as close as he could. He knew that meant _yes. _

Marley didn't let go of Ryder for the next 10 minutes just in case she would lose him again. But she knew – _not now, not ever. _

{x}

_**The end! I hope you liked Day 3 - and I hope it made sense. I didn't want to stick with the original story of Bray and Amber for this, though (they're happy, Amber dies, Bray falls in love, Amber comes back, they make a baby, Bray dies and Amber comes back to life) because it was far too complex! **_

_**Anyway, hope you liked, leave a review and you should check out The Tribe one day. Read the books or something! :)**_

_**-Camryn x**_


	4. Day 4: First Date

**_Day 4 of Ryley Week - Ryder and Marley's first date! I kind of added a bit of what I did in In 7 Days (a fanfiction I wrote on Wattpad) for one of Ryder and Marley's dates in here so it might feel like deja vu if you've ever read it haha! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!_**

{x}

_She reached across to grab Ryder's bicep as they sat in the choir room alone, just the two of them. Marley sighed; she was content with the fact she was finally able to be alone with Ryder and freely kiss him without having to hide anything from anyone.. "Hey, babe." She whispered with a wide smile._

_"Hello, my lovely girlfriend." Ryder smiled, feeling happiness run through his veins at the ability to say that to Marley – the very girl he'd been hopelessly chasing for a whole year._

_They'd been together for about a week now and really, they hadn't told anyone about their secret relationship. They weren't even sure when they were going to do that but for now, they were just happy that they were together. Finally._

_Ryder reached his hand down and gripped Marley's opposite hand, bringing it up to his lips to press a soft kiss to the back of her hand. Marley let out a soft, nervous chuckle and ducked her head, trying not to blush under Ryder's gaze._

_Ryder leaned forward and pushed his nose against Marley's until she raised her head. Once she did, he leaned across and kissed her lips softly. Marley couldn't help but smile. "You're so beautiful." He muttered against her lips._

_"Thank you." She mumbled in reply, slowly opening her eyes to gaze into his eyes. Ryder smiled and pulled away, his hands resting on her thighs._

_Ryder and Marley's intense moment was interrupted by a voice at the door. It was Rachel, who had come back to help the Glee club with Regionals this year. She just stared at them, watching their intertwined hands. "Are you… are you two like, a thing?" She asked, walking into the room and pointing between Ryder and Marley._

_They exchanged a glance, not bothering to untangle themselves. They searched each other's facial expressions for the answer as to what to say. "Yes," they both replied softly and quietly, a smile coming across their faces._

"I was thinking," Ryder began, running up behind Marley and wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her cheek and nuzzled his nose against the soft skin of her face. "I was thinking, Mar, about something we haven't done at all and we _need _to do."

"What is this… thing?" Marley smiled, tugging her backpack down from the top shelf of her locker. She ran her finger over the two pictures of her and Ryder on the side before shutting the door.

"We need…" Ryder paused. She bit her lip and waited for him to continue. Ryder loosened his grip around her waist and spun her around quickly. "We need to go on a date."

"A date?" Marley raised her eyebrows, setting her hands on his strong shoulders. Ryder nodded.

"Yes, a date. I mean, we haven't gone on one yet because we've only been publicly dating for a week… so this'll be our first date. A cliché first date, that is." He smiled, kissing her nose lightly. Marley let out a quiet chuckle and bowed her head. She began blush. Everything Ryder said made her blush these days.

"I'll go on a date with you, Ryder Lynn." Marley whispered, bringing her hands from his shoulders and running her fingers through his hair.

"Oh, great, I didn't even have to ask you." Ryder beamed, bouncing slightly out of excitement. Marley let out a quiet laugh and shook her head. She was about to tell Ryder how stupid and adorable we was, but Ryder was already talking about their upcoming date. "Anyway I was thinking, we could go out this Friday to Breadstix and just… make it cliché, you know? Like the movies?"

Marley nodded. "I like that idea. Gee, you're so original, though." Marley pulled her hand out from his hair and punched his arm lightly, leaning in closer to Ryder.

"Oh, fine, whatever. Original is classy." Ryder shrugged, untangling himself from Marley and grabbing her hand. Marley pulled her bag onto her back, resting it on one shoulder before givig Ryder's hand a squeeze.

"Original is classy? Seriously?" Marley muttered, looking over at Ryder. Ryder looked at her, his eyes wide and clueless to the incredibly stupid thing he had said. "You're insane." Marley chuckled and stretched over, punching his arm lightly again.

"Stop it, you're hurting me." Ryder whined, swatting away Marley's hand with a fake frown on his face.

"Aw, my poor baby." Marley whispered, leaning over and kissing his cheek. Ryder shivered as her lips grazed against his skin. "I'm sorry I hurt you, honey." She let out a little laugh and rubbed her forehead against his shoulder.

"It's fine, you know. I'm just… hurt." He pouted at Marley before throwing his arm around her shoulder. "I'm kidding, I think you're amazing."

{x}

He arrived at Marley's house on Friday night at 6pm on the dot. He parked his car in the driveway and turned it off, the engine quickly growing quiet.

Ryder wouldn't admit it to anyone but himself that he was nervous. He wasn't too sure why – he and Marley hung out every day and ate food together and talked. But the fact it was a date made him feel so much more… nervous. Things felt different to him.

_Maybe Marley won't enjoy herself? _Ryder thought to himself, gripping anxiously onto the steering wheel in front of him. _What if she doesn't like the food at Breadstix? Should I change the location? Or should I cancel? What if I get to the door and she cancels, though?_

His phone began ringing loudly on his thigh and he let out a girly scream, jumping in his seat. The vibrating of the phone scared him more than the ringtone – which Marley had obviously changed and was now _Give Up The Girl _by Reece Mastin (the loudest song on 'Beautiful Nightmare').

He fumbled with his phone, attempting to pick it up. He hit the screen and it answered the phone for him. Ryder let out a deep sigh and pressed the phone to his ear. "Hello?" His heart was still thumping in his chest from the fear of the ringing phone.

"Hey babe." Marley responded sweetly, her voice in a low whisper. Ryder felt his blood run cold – she was cancelling on him, wasn't she? He knew it was a bad idea. They should have waited a couple more weeks! They just got toge— "I'm just wondering where you were! You said 6 o'clock on the dot! And it's 6:02." Ryder could just hear the smirk on her face.

He let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. She wasn't cancelling, thank the Lord. "I'm outside, by the way. I actually arrived on time." He fumbled with the door handle and opened it, stepping out of the car. He slammed the door and held his phone between his head and shoulder as he locked the car door. "I just sat in the car."

"Sure you did," Marley stretched out her words to exaggerate her sarcasm. He heard her laugh on the other side of the line. Ryder rolled his eyes and walked up the one step to the front door of the house.

"I'm here, at your door, babe." He said into the phone, staring at the doorbell on the side of the door. He reached forward and poked it sheepishly. It echoed throughout the house on the inside and he heard the tune through Marley's mobile.

"That's obviously you." Marley laughed. Ryder nodded although Marley couldn't seem him. He heard running from inside the house and realized Marley was probably running down the stairs of her house. Seconds later the door opened and there stood Marley, smiling brightly.

"Hey, Mar." Ryder said, leaning forward and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Marley blushed and wiped her cheek shyly. She was dressed in a short multi-colored skater dress and a black hoodie and Ryder couldn't help but stare at her. Marley just looked so damn adorable! "You look beautiful." He murmured, reaching forward and grabbing her hand tightly.

"Thanks." She whispered, giving a wide smile in Ryder's direction. He couldn't believe how beautiful and pretty her eyes looked tonight. "I think you look pretty hot too."

"Thank you." Ryder laughed, stepping into her house and kissing the tip of her nose softly. "Where's your Mom? I've got to say hi before I swoop her daughter away." Ryder nudged Marley with his elbow and peered into the nearby kitchen.

"You go say hi to Mom, I'll go finish getting ready." Marley smiled nervously. She immediately cursed herself for being nervous and ran away from Ryder, up the stairs and to her small bedroom to the left. She began to pace her room nervously.

Tonight was going to so awesome, she kept on telling herself, but she wasn't too certain. What if the nerves messed her up and they had nothing to talk about? No, that wasn't going to happen. Tonight would be perfection. _Right?_

She picked up her Katy Perry perfume and sprayed it on her neck and her torso. She should have sprayed it on before calling Ryder, and then Ryder would probably complement her on her smell as well as her clothes.

She tugged on her dress and hair, making it fall over both of her shoulders. She checked everything in the mirror once more before walking down the stairs and running into Ryder at the door. "Hey, we gonna go?" She asked, nodding towards the door.

"Yes." Ryder smiled, opening the door frantically. "Let's go, quickly!"

"No, no, don't rush me." Marley said, slapping his shoulders lightly and scoffing at him. She pushed his arm and he fell to the side slightly, stumbling to catch his feet and nudging the coat rack over.

The rack fell to the ground and made a loud clatter. Marley gave a loud laugh and stared at Ryder's embarrassed face. She hid her face from Ryder and laughed again. "It's not that funny." Ryder sighed with a smile. He leant over and picked up the coat rack, setting it by the door again. "Let's go already." Ryder linked his hand with Marley's and pulled her out of the door.

"Okay," Marley smiled, shutting the door behind them. "Let's go, baby."

{x}

They were seated in the little table in the corner of the room right against the window. It was nice there, away from the commotion in the middle of the restaurant.

"I don't know what I want," Ryder sighed, staring at the menu before looking up at Marley. She was staring at him, a small smile on her face. Ryder smiled back and gave her a wink before looking back at the menu again. "It's all food."

"Yeah, it's food." Marley chuckled, shaking her head. She pushed her hair behind her ear. "I can't decide either."

"This is hard, why did we come here?" Ryder whined, throwing down the menu and leaning back. He pouted and crossed his arms.

"Because you wanted to make this a cliché date, why else?" Marley laughed, turning her head to the side and staring at him like a confused puppy. "Why did you want to make this cliché anyway?" Marley questioned, placing the menu on the table and crossing her arms.

"Because you like cliché movies - where the guy and the girl meet, fall in love and get married and have babies." Ryder shrugged, biting his lip. Marley nodded slowly and let out a laugh. "I'm right, right?" Ryder asked, pointing his hand in her direction, poking her nose lightly.

She let another, louder laugh and shook her head again, her hair bouncing. "You're right, babe. I love that kind of stuff and I'm hoping that our lives will turn out exactly like that – cliché in every way possible!" She clasped her hands together in front of her and held them up to her mouth.

"Not every way possible, right?" Ryder dropped his menu on the table, almost shocked.

Marley chuckled and reached her hand out, placing it on his forearm. "No, not every way possible. We're going to have our own story – a better story."

"I like that." Ryder winked, looking back down at the menu before his mouth opened wide in an 'O' shape and he made a loud gasping sound.

"What?" Marley asked, alarmed. Her eyes widened and she reached forward to grab Ryder's other arm to comfort him.

"They have spaghetti! Let's do the _Lady and The Tramp_ thing!" Ryder whispered loudly, his mouth still open wide. Marley's mouth opened exactly the same as Ryder's and her eyes seemed to grow wider, if that was even possible. It was impossible not to notice the shine in her eyes.

"We have to do that, oh, my God!" Marley stamped her feet on the ground over and over. Ryder did a little dance in his seat as he and Marley celebrated being able to do the spaghetti thing from one of the best movies of all time.

Every day they were finding something more they had in common.

"No, I'm not even kidding. We need to do this!" Marley said, trying to calm herself. This was… so exciting! Marley and Ryder had both always wanted to do this!

The waitress came up to them seconds later, asking what they wanted for their date tonight. Marley and Ryder shared a look before they both shouted, "Spaghetti!" at the top if their lungs. They both burst out into giggles, the rest of the room going silent to look at them.

"Okay, alright." The waitress said, looking at the couple up and down before walking away, glancing one last time at the laughing girl and boy. She thought they were weird, obviously, but they didn't really care.

"No, this is going to be so fun." Ryder whispered with a small smile. He reached across the table and took both of Marley's hands in his, bringing them up to his lips and kissing them softly. She smiled and blushed a light shade of pink.

"I think it'll be fun as well." Marley muttered, watching Ryder's face carefully. His brown eyes were sparkling with happiness and he looked so… in love. Marley thought she'd never see that look in someone's eyes again when they were looking at her. Not since Jake.

"Ryder," Marley whispered, looking down at their intertwined hands. "Why do you- Why do you like me?"

"I like you because you're you." Ryder smiled, replying immediately. He gave her hands a squeeze. Marley laughed, a breathy laugh, and shook her head.

"Acceptable." She nodded.

"I really like you, though, Marley." Ryder whispered, scooting to the edge of his seat and leaning over the table. Marley scooted in closer and leaned forward, pressing her nose against Ryder's. "And you're so beautiful. I'm lucky, I hope you know that."

"I really like you, too…. And _I'm _the lucky one." Marley whispered, rubbing her nose against his cheek and then against his nose. She nudged it lightly. Ryder's smile grew and he leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips.

"Excuse me," They heard the waitress' voice again and quickly pulled away from each other, pulling their hands to the respective sides of the table. "Your pasta is here." The waitress placed a large plate on the center of the table with a bill in a black leather envelope. Ryder and Marley ignored that, though and stared down at the pasta.

"You ready for this?" Ryder whispered, picking up his fork and squinting at Marley, prepared to dig into the pasta and act out _The Lady and The Tramp._

"So ready for this." Marley replied, picking up her own fork and pointing it straight to Ryder. Ryder nodded and smiled, slamming his fork down into the pasta. Marley watched him tug out a couple of strands of pasta and grab the one which seemed like the longest one in his mouth.

Marley leaned forward and grabbed what she thought was the other end of the spaghetti. Ryder nodded at her, the piece still in his mouth. Marley made a humming noise and Ryder pulled the spaghetti from the fork,

It turned out it was two separate pieces of spaghetti. Ryder slurped up the long piece and sighed. The piece he had sucked up left a line of sauce on his chin. Marley laughed and wiped her face up with the back of her hand before reaching forward and grabbing onto Ryder's face. He gave a sheepish smile before Marley swiped her finger over his chin and wiped up the sauce there.

"Let's try again, huh?" Ryder whispered, staring into Marley's eyes. Marley nodded. Ryder picked up one big strand of spaghetti with his fingers and put one end in his mouth, holding up the other end for Marley. She put the strand in her mouth and went to slurp up the piece of spaghetti but it fell out of her mouth.

She tilted her head back and laughed loudly, clapping her hands lightly. Ryder sucked up the whole piece of pasta before laughing quietly.

"This is hard." Ryder whined pushing the spaghetti around the large plate that nearly covered the whole table.

"Try again, though. We might get it!" Marley said, punching the sides of the table repeatedly. Ryder nodded and whispered, "Okay," to her before picking up a strand of spaghetti again. He placed it in Marley's mouth first and then put the other end in his mouth.

He slurped up the pasta a little bit more and so did Marley. It was an even amount and it seemed to be staying, so far. They both moved in further until their lips were centimeters away from each other's. And then finally, they managed to reach each other's lips and kiss each other.

After a couple of seconds, they pulled away from each other, biting through the spaghetti. They swallowed the food in their mouths before high-fiving each other with both hands. They linked fingers and held their hands in the air. "We did it!" Ryder shouted, moving his hands around in circles In the air.

"Yes!" Marley shouted, shaking her hands around. "That was really fun. I felt like Lady!" She exclaimed with a bright smile. Ryder couldn't get over how cute she was.

"I felt like… the tramp." Ryder laughed, pulling his hands from Marley's and picking up his fork. "Shall we eat now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Marley nodded and laughed at her boyfriend, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

{x}

Marley laughed as she walked up to the door of her house, grabbing both of Ryder's hands. "Tonight was fun, Ryder. Definitely the best first date I've ever been on." She smiled, reaching her hand up and brushing Ryder's hair off of his forehead.

"I had fun, too. We even did the thing with the spaghetti – that is the best thing ever." Ryder smiled, leaning down and giving Marley a soft and passionate kiss on the lips. It lasted a couple of seconds and Marley wished it could have gone on for longer.

"I'll see you at school on Monday?" Ryder asked, pulling away from his girlfriend.

"Yep." Marley nodded, untangling her hands from Ryder's and pulling her jacket around her tighter. "Thanks again, Ryder. It was totally awesome going out on a date with you, I enjoyed it." She had a great big smile covering her face, her eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"There'll be many more to come, don't worry about that." Ryder whispered to her, kissing her lips one more time.

He walked down the steps and towards his car. He turned back around to face Marley and saw her still standing on the porch, staring after Ryder. "Bye, babe." Marley whispered, waving sheepishly.

"Bye, Mar." He winked, taking another step towards his car. He turned away and went to open the door but stopped short, turning back around to Marley. "Actually, babe, do you want to go on another date tomorrow night?"

"Why not?" Marley shrugged. "Let's do it – and make it just as cliché as tonight."

"It wasn't really cliché, though." Ryder laughed, opening the car door and sliding his phone into his pocket. He continued to stare at Marley who was biting her lip and looking so damn sexy, leaning against that wall.

"It kind of was… but I want tomorrow night to be more cliché!" Marley laughed, resting her head against the wood of the house.

"Alright." Ryder nodded, putting his foot into the car, ready to jump in. "I love you and I'll talk to tomorrow for our second date." He blew her a kiss and jumped into the side of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.

Marley waved at him and walked back into the house. Ryder watched the door carefully as she went back in. Once she was gone, he hit the steering wheel excitedly. It had gone successfully and Marley had fun! The night had gone to plan and he was just hoping that tomorrow's date would go just as well.

{x}

_**This was really long, but I hope you enjoyed Ryley week day 4! Damn, the week is almost over :( What will I do with my life? **__**Leave a review if you want to - and sorry about the length or if it got boring or anything. Special thanks to TeaandGlee and Jennoist-OTP for reviewing! Thanks to everyone who has followed this story, too!**_

_**-Camryn x**_


	5. Day 5: Army AU

**_This is Day 5 of Ryley Week - army au fanfiction. My Mum used to do Marley's job in this (a mess clerk) so my Mum was a big help in writing this! Although she'll never see this, thanks Mum! Enjoy and leave a comment!_**

{x}

Being secretly on Facebook during work was Marley's favorite thing to do– besid es maybe staring at the cadets during training but that made her boss suspicious most of the time.

Half of the time the cadets trained without shirts, though – what could seriously be better than that?

Her job as a mess clerk was pretty boring really and that's why she had so much free time. She only rarely did accounts and most of the time she was just selling uniforms to the cadets and maybe even having conversations with them. Barely often though. She barely did any work and still got paid $25 an hour.

She was going to go home soon – in like an hour – and absolutely no work had been done today, unless counting how many folders were in thee file cabinet was considered work.

She was messaging one of her friends about a new skirt she bought that was too tight (and how pissed off she was) when there was a knock on her office door which she shared with three of the big bosses of accounts. She gazed around and realized no one was in the office to answer the door for her, so she groaned and leaned back in her seat.

"Come in!" She shouted, throwing her hands over her face and letting out a loud sigh. She cracked her knuckles against her face before sitting back up in her chair, her hair falling across her face. She looked towards the screen and typed a quick _brb _to her friend. She closed Facebook and watched the door open slightly before a figure came through, a smile on his face.

He looked young, about Marley's age, with bright brown eyes and brown hair dripped with water or sweat. Marley couldn't tell but she didn't care. He was also wearing a cadet's camo uniform and how hot he looked made her want to die.

"Hi." The boy nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets and rocking back and forth. He gave Marley a small smile and stared right at her, waiting for him to respond.

"H-Hi." Marley stuttered, fumbling around the desk for her folder which she had misplaced – she might have been able to find it if she could take her eyes from the boy's beautiful face.

"I've been in here before but you weren't here – you new?" He nodded down at her, looking so polite and insanely adorable. Marley just knew he was hot, right from the first glance.

"N-no, I've worked here for a while." Marley stuttered, laughing quietly under her breath. She managed to pull her gaze away from the boy for a second to find her folder and quickly opened it, pulling a pen from the little metal pot next to her desktop computer. "I do take regular breaks, though." She mumbled with a smile, pulling out a blue pen – her favourite pen, no less.

"Oh, alright." Ryder nodded and took the pen from her, winking right at her. He felt her face turn hot – why was he winking at her, oh my God?

"Just fill out the top half of the form and I can help you with what you need." Ryder leaned against the desk, slumping over the folder on her desk. He had his hands resting on the table and through his long sleeved army shirt; she could see his muscles bulging through the fabric. Her breath got caught in her throat and she couldn't look away.

"Now can I like, tell you what I need?" Ryder smiled, pointing to a cardboard box pressed against the far wall. How'd he know the shirts were in there?

"Yes, yes, you can." Marley laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear anxiously with shaking hands. Ryder laughed at her and flipped his hair to the side, the wetness making it stick to his head.

"Can I get a sports shirt?" Ryder laughed, taking his hand off of the desk and going to rock back and forth again. Marley needed so badly to take her eyes off of him.

"Alright – we'll try a medium for you." Marley smiled, pushing the hair that had fallen from her ear back there. She got up out of her black and comfy seat and walked to the back of the room. She tugged out the first medium sports shirt she could find and spun around to throw it at him. Ryder caught it before it even landed a metre in front of him. He laughed. "Do you want to go behind the curtain to try it on?" Marley whispered, signaling behind her to a large white curtain in the corner of the room.

Ryder bit his lip and shrugged, looking down at the sport's shirt. "If you don't mind, ma'am, I'll do it right here." He gave her a heart-warming smile, waiting for her opinion. She was shocked – he was going to change… in front of her…

"Sure, sure, yeah, go ahead." Marley tried to act like she didn't care but she did care. All too much actually. She sat back down in her seat and brushed down her white top, trying to make herself look busy.

"Awesome, thank you, ma'am." He smiled. He threw the sports shirt down on the table over some of the papers, making them fly across the room. Marley would have groaned or complained about it, but she was too caught up in the fact _he was going to take his shirt off._

He put his hands on the bottom of the camouflage top he was currently wearing and quickly began to pull it off of himself. Marley felt herself get choked up, unable to breathe. Although he had only taken his shirt off just a little bit, Marley could see his toned abs. He bent over slightly and pulled the shirt off the way, throwing it down on table next to the sports shirt.

Marley watched him take a deep breath and roll his shoulders, clearly showing off his muscles to her. Marley wiped around her mouth, afraid she was drooling. She stared right at his abs and swallowed the large lump which had grown in her throat. He was so cute and so hot at the same time – plus he was nice. He seemed like the perfect guy.

He quickly picked up the sports shirt and began to pull it on. Marley wanted to scream at him to stop putting it on so she could stare for a little while longer but she didn't really want Ryder to know she was staring.

"I think it fits." He sighed, pulling it onto him completely and rolling his shoulders again to see if it fit him. It did and it wasn't as tight fitting as she thought it would be – well, more like _hoping _it would be. "I'll just wear it out, if that's okay?" He said, picking up his shirt and gesturing to the door.

"Yeah that's good." Marley smiled, nodding her head frantically. He was so cute! She knew she was beginning to get a crush on him and she tried to stop it, so desperately.

"Thanks…" He trailed off and searched her desk for her name. He found it on the little triangle at the front of her desk. "Thanks Marley." He winked at her and began to pull his wallet out of his back pocket.

"You're welcome." She smiled, watching his sexy hands grab a $20 note out of his pocket. She took it from him and dropped it in the little metal box on the side of her desk. "Come back soon!" Marley beamed childishly at him, her eyes wide.

"I will, don't worry about that." He winked, walking to the door and opening it, still not taking his eyes away from Marley. Marley thought about the possibilities of him having a crush on her but then realized she was probably being self-centered and shrugged it off. But no doubt about it, she had a crush on him.

She picked up the folder he had written in and scanned over his details. _Ryder Lynn, _it read at the top of the small piece of paper. "Hm, what a cute name."

{x}

The next afternoon, Marley was let off work an hour early, around the same time she had met Ryder yesterday. She hadn't forgotten about what had happened in her office – she actually remembered every detail vividly. She'd even had a dream about Ryder and that had been really hot.

She picked up all of her belongings off of the table and the floor and stored them in her bag, taking out her phone in the process. She always kept her phone in the pocket to the side of her skirt unless she was in the office. Then it stayed in her bag all day long.

She opened the door to the office and turned left to go to the carpark. She walked down the ramp, holding onto the bar by the side of it. Slipping in a skirt was something that had happened before and Marley did not want that to happen again. No way.

Marley turned to walk towards her car (it was on the far end of the car park) when she saw the cadets running by her under the trees, each sending her a wave or a head nod. She smiled back at them and wrung her hands out anxiously. Perhaps Ryder would be there.

A long line of them passed her and none of them were Ryder. She frowned – why wasn't she able to see Ryder again? Then her eyes caught something standing about 30 meters away from her. It was a boy drenched in sweat with his shirt off, squeezing it off into a tree. Sweat dripped like water from the shirt and the person… _Ryder._

Ryder looked up at her, almost sensing she was staring at him. Marley blushed and went to tuck her hair behind her head before remembering it was in a ponytail. "Oh, hey, Marley!" He screamed at her, quickly forgetting about squeezing the sweat out of the t-shirt and running over to her. Marley felt her heart begin to pound.

"Hi, Ryder!" She shouted back as he came closer and closer to her, his wet hair flying through the wind. It looked so photogenic but so… sexy at the same time.

"How'd you know my name?" He smiled, leaning over his knees and shaking his head lightly. Sweat felt from his hair and went on Marley's flats. She couldn't have been bothered to complain about getting sweat on her shoes – he was too cute.

"It was in the folder I got you to write in yesterday." Marley scratched the side of her face lightly and nervously.

"Oh, yes." Ryder nodded, running his hand through his hair. "I remember that now."

"I remember it, too." Marley smiled stupidly and scanned his body up and down, staring at his abs and almost drooling again.

"Hey, Marley," Ryder said quietly, kicking the ground with his shoe. He crossed his arms over his chest self-consciously and Marley quickly stared up into his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes. "Would you to, uh, maybe, go out to lunch with me tomorrow? On your lunch break?" He asked sheepishly.

Marley's stomach did a flip and tied itself in a knot. She didn't hesitate to reply with a loud, "Yes!"

"Great." Ryder grinned at her, showing off his white teeth. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Marley nodded bashfully, her cheeks turning red. This seriously could not to be happening, it was too good to be true. "I'll see you tomorrow, too."

Ryder nodded and looked over at the rest of his cadets to find they had all run way too far ahead. "Oh, shit, better go catch up. See you tomorrow, beautiful." He winked and began to run off without his shirt on still.

Marley's mouth opened wide and she scrunched her hands into fists. "Yes!" She screamed, bouncing up and down in spot. This had to be the best day ever – she had been asked out by Ryder Lynn, the cadet! _Damn, that sounded so sexy!_

She did a little dance in a circle before walking towards her car, singing happily underneath her breath. She had a date with Ryder Lynn for tomorrow! Things couldn't get any better!

{x}

_**Happy Day 5 of Ryley Week! This was pretty hard to write, not knowing much about army things. Anyway hope you enjoyed! Also this is based on a true event (this literally happened to my Mum at her old job. And he was also hot haha).**_

_**-Camryn x**_


	6. Day 6: Meeting The Family

_**Day 6 of Ryley Week is here - meeting the family. I'm sad that this week's nearly over and I'll have really nothing to post in this anymore. Oh well. Enjoy this - and sorry in advance for making Marley cry. **_

{x}

"You've met my Mom before, Ryd." Marley said to him over the phone, a clear smile in her voice. He let out a loud shaky breath and shrugged, picking up the TV remote to change the channel. He'd been doing that for the past hour since Under The Dome finished.

"I know, Mar. It's just… nerve-wracking. I mean, formal dinner with my future mother-in-law? That's bound to be scary." He looked over at the clock hanging on the wall. It was still another hour before he had to leave for Marley's house. He guessed it was a good thing – maybe he could work on what to say in that time.

"Future mother-in-law?" Marley giggled. Ryder let out a laugh, too and fiddled with the remote in his hands. "Are you really sure about that?"

"Yes, Marley. I love you and I want to marry you one day, alright? And then we're going to have little Ryder's and Marley's and we're going to live happily ever after." Ryder smiled, staring at the photos on the walls of the lounge room. They were photos of his Mom and his Dad, and Ryder knew that when he and Marley were married that they'd have so many photos of them and their kids. He couldn't wait.

Marley laughed, a cute hiccupping laugh and let out a contented sigh. "I like how you have our lives planned out already." Ryder nodded to himself and laughed quietly in reply.

"I just know that's how it's gonna work out. We're best friends and soul mates." Ryder grinned, flipping his hair to the side.

"I agree with you, Ryder. Soul mates." Marley confirmed. Ryder imagined her nodding and smiling so brightly. He loved her smile so much. "Oh, Ryder, I better go get ready. I'll see you in a while, alright?"

"Yeah, that's cool." Ryder smiled. "I love you and I'll see you at yours in an hour-ish."

"Okay, cool. Love you, too! Bye!" Marley made a kissing noise before hanging up the phone. Ryder dropped the phone next to him on the couch and sighed heavily. He had to get his nerves in order before he had to leave.

{x}

Marley brushed down her skirt in the mirror and looked up at her face, checking her hair one last time. Her Mom and her spent quite a while attempting to curl it and after half an hour they had succeeded! She was glad she was able to do this because she really wanted to look nice for Ryder tonight… but she'd have to look even better tomorrow night for her dinner with his parents. She was kind of dreading it.

Marley pulled on her black and white laced top one last time, making sure it wasn't too tight clinging. She sat down on the chair in her room and pulled on her black ballet slippers. And there she sat for the next couple of minutes, patiently waiting for Ryder to get there.

That was when she heard a loud knock on the door. "Oh, Ryder's here. Ryder's here." She mumbled under her breath, standing up from her seat and rushing out of the room, down the stairs and to the door. She brushed down her hair to make sure it hadn't flown up during the rush to the door before she pulled on the doorknob.

Ryder was there, leaning on the doorframe. He was wearing that striped green and orange jumper he had worn when he and Marley had met for the first time and he looked so _adorable. _

"Hi." Marley whispered, her eyes wide.

"Hey, Marls." Ryder smiled, leaning forward to peck her lips softly.

"I'm so… I'm so glad you're here." Marley shook her head, her nose brushing up against his. "I've been waiting for you to come since we hung up the phone… I missed you." She pouted and brought her hands up to wrap them around Ryder's neck.

"Well I'm here now – be lonely no more." Ryder nodded, tracing his hands up Marley's hips and grabbing her thin waist, tugging her closer to him. She was standing on the step of the door and he was on the concrete outside.

"Do you want to come in?" Marley asked, her lips brushing up against Ryder's. She pulled away, just in case people passing by thought they might have been making out.

"Sure!" Ryder exclaimed, pulling his hands off of her waist. She tugged her arms from his neck and pulled him inside by the forearm. Ryder shut the door behind him and didn't look away from Marley's face.

"Let's sit down and wait for um, Mom to finish cooking," Marley said, shaking her head. "Is that alright with you?" She asked, nodding at Ryder.

"It's perfectly fine with me." He linked his hand with Marley's, his fingers digging into the back of her hand. Marley dragged him to the couch in the lounge room and sat him down on the cheap, two-seater, floral couch. They both sat next to each other, their hands resting atop Ryder's thigh.

"Did I tell you that you look really beautiful tonight?" Ryder whispered, bringing his other hand up and touching her curls lightly.

"No… but thank you." Marley whispered bashfully, watching their hands carefully. She couldn't get over how normal it felt to hold Ryder's hand like this. "You look really cute too, you know." Marley shrugged nervously.

"Thank you – I like to think of myself as hot as opposed to cute, but thanks." Ryder shrugged and winked right at her, his eyes shining with such happiness it made her heart flutter.

Marley let out another hiccupping laugh and covered her hand with her mouth, laughing loudly. "That wasn't really funny, it was more truthful." Ryder commented, but Marley just laughed.

"Sure, sure, Ryd." She sighed with a shake of her head. She smiled and leaned over to peck his cheek lightly. Ryder smiled at her and Marley couldn't help but admire his bright smile.

How'd she get so lucky to get a man like Ryder in her life?

"Marley, is Ryder here?" Her Mom shouted, running into the lounge room. She stood at the door of the room and smiled at the two teenagers settled on the couch together. "Oh, yes, he is." Millie smiled, taking a step into the room.

"Hi, Miss Rose." Ryder smiled, waving his hand slightly and watching her wide-eyed. His nerves started to take over and he felt his heart beginning to beat faster.

"Hello, Ryder," She grinned and held her hands out, waiting for a hug. Ryder let go of Marley's hand and stood up off of the couch, walking to Miss Rose. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "It's lovely to see you again, Ryder." Miss Rose smiled into his shoulder and leaned up, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.

"You too, Miss Rose." Ryder grinned, pulling away and looking back over at Marley. She was sitting on the couch, watching the two of them hug. She seemed so happy that her Mom and Ryder were getting along.

"Dinner's ready! Should we eat?" Miss Rose asked, gesturing to the kitchen. Ryder nodded nervously and watched Marley come up to him. She grabbed his hand tightly and led him into the dining room after her Mom.

"This'll be fun, Ryder, don't worry." Marley nudged him with her elbow and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, fun." Ryder breathed out and took a deep breath in. His nerves made him shake so badly. Why was he so nervous, though? He'd talked to Miss Rose so many times before and suddenly he was so scared to have dinner with her?

"No, Ryder, just be cool and be yourself. Honestly, things will be fine." Marley said, patting his arm lightly. "Just remember, I'll be more nervous with your parents tomorrow night – it'll be my first time meeting them, you know."

"Good point." Ryder smiled at her, kissing the side of her head as they walked into the dining. "This'll be fun."

{x}

"Thank you, Miss Rose, for tonight." Ryder grinned, pulling her into a hug. Marley opened the door for him and leaned against the doorframe.

"It's alright, Ryder! It was very fun, I'm glad to have gotten to know more about you." Miss Rose smiled and gave Ryder another kiss on the cheek. Ryder kissed her cheek in reply and backed away from her, walking out of the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow to pick up Marley." He smiled, looking over at Marley and leaning down for a quick kiss. Marley nodded and kissed his lips lightly, running one hand through the side of his hair.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" She smiled.

"Tomorrow – and don't be nervous." Ryder told her, stroking her arm lightly. Marley smiled and nodded, burying her face into his neck. "I love you so much." Ryder whispered into her hair, closing his eyes and reveling in the hug.

"I love you so much, too. And like, I'll try not to be nervous." Marley whispered, pulling away from her boyfriend and kissing his lips one more time.

"I better go now." Ryder said, pulling away from her completely and stretching.

"Alright," Marley sighed sadly, reaching her hand out and resting it on Ryder's shoulder. "Did you have fun, though?" She asked wide-eyed, her eyes looking brighter in the light from the moon.

"So much fun. I'm glad I didn't chicken out or anything." Ryder nodded, walking backwards to the car.

"I'm glad you didn't either." Marley laughed, leaning against the wood of the house. "I'll see you tomorrow night and I'll talk to you later."

"Yep, see ya, Marls." He shouted, waving his hand. He jumped into the side of the car and stared at his girlfriend by the door. Tonight had been perfect and now he was hoping and praying tomorrow would be the same.

{x}

"Are you sure I look okay?" Marley asked, fixing up her hair in the mirror of Ryder's car and fixing up her eye shadow.

"I'm sure - you look beautiful." Ryder said, taking a look over at her as he parked in the driveway of his house. Marley looked out of the window and immediately felt sick – the house was huge, at least three stories high with more than 8 windows. They were rich, oh my God.

"Thank you, Ryd." Marley whispered, brushing down her skater dress and putting her hand over her heavily beating heart. "But I don't know if I can do this, you can take me home right now. Please." Marley begged, closing her eyes. She was shaking; she could just feel her muscles trembling.

"No, you can do this, babe. They're gonna love you okay? If I love you, they are certain to, alright?" Ryder reached his hand across and placed it on her knee.

"Alright, but if things go bad you have to take me home." Marley's voice was quiet and scared – she really wasn't ready for this.

"Okay, but it'll be fine." Ryder smiled. He leaned across, pecked her cheek before jumping out of the car. Marley watched her boyfriend run around to her side and open the car door. She muttered her thanks and stared up at the house. Shit no, she was not going in there. Ryder took her hand tightly and tugged her up the front stairs of the house to the large double doors that led into the foyer.

"Mom! Marley and I are here!" He screamed, knocking on the door before opening it. Marley gave his hand a tight squeeze anxiously as Ryder dragged her into the foyer.

It was huge, with large expensive paintings and lovely tiled floor. Marley wanted to scream – who knew Ryder's family was so posh and wealthy?

Ryder's Mom and Dad began to run into the foyer looking so civilized. Ryder's Mom was tall, a little bit shorter than Ryder with bright red curly hair and big pink lips. She kind of looked like she had had work done on her face but Marley couldn't have been sure. His Dad looked even richer than the rest of them in the foyer. He was dressed in a fancy suit and had gelled back brown hair that made him look so prissy.

"Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend Marley." Ryder signaled to Marley and nodded at his Mom and Dad. They plastered smiles onto their faces and nodded politely. Marley could tell they hated her by their expressions.

"H-Hi, it's lovely to meet you." Marley whispered, nodding her head. She bit her lip anxiously and waited for them to reply to her. But they didn't. They stayed scarily silent. Marley felt her heart sink and tears begin to build in her eyes. _They didn't like her. _

His Mom turned to his Dad and muttered something under her breath, thinking both Ryder and Marley were unable to hear but they heard it so clearly. It was like a stab in the heart for Marley. "I don't think she's right for Ryder."

"Take me home." Marley whined to Ryder, the tears beginning to overflow and run down her cheeks. "I want to go home, this was a bad idea."

"No, Marley." Ryder whispered, pulling his hands up and grabbing her face in his hands. "It's okay, don't cry, babe." Marley looked down and closed her eyes tightly. This seriously couldn't be happening.

Ryder sighed and looked over at his parents who were just calmly watching the scene in front of them. Marley let out a loud shaky breath and turned to the slightly ajar door. "I need to go home – take me home, Ryder."

-Ryder let out a defeated sigh and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Shh, it's alright baby." Ryder kissed her forehead and pulled her close to him.

He quickly walked Marley to the door of his house and opened the door for her, leading her out as quickly as possible, not even bidding goodbye to his parents. At that moment, he hated them more than anyone in the world. They had always been so mean and degrading.

"They don't like me, Ryder. I knew this was going to happen." Marley choked out, her voice weak. She just knew this was going to happen from the moment she hopped in the car with Ryder. His parents hated her.

"Hey, Marley," Ryder stopped her at the bottom of the stairs and grabbed onto her shoulders tightly. "Who gives a flying fuck what they think about you, alright? They're not in love with you and if I want to marry you, I will marry you. I hate them and I love you."

"But-but-"

"No buts. Who gives a fuck if they don't like you? I _love _you." Ryder leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "Now let's go see a movie or something." Ryder whispered and led her to his car.

Marley nodded and nervously looked up – _yeah, who gave a fuck what they thought. _

{x}

**_Day 6 is over! Tomorrow is the final part to Ryley Week... much sad, very depress. Please leave a review or something and check back here tomorrow for the final part of Ryley Week!_**

**_-Camryn x_**


	7. Day 7: Different Decade

_**The final day of Ryley Week is here - day 7; different decade (I chose the 60's and did my research on it... hope it was alright)! Hope you enjoy the final day and check out the 'ryley week' tag on Tumblr for more awesome Ryley Week stuff! **_

{x}

Marley kicked the rear of her car as hard as she could in her heels, making the license plate hit the metal of the car. It made a weird ringing noise before it stopped; the car still inactive.

She and Kitty (her best friend) were driving to go to the movies until this had happened – the car had broken down in the middle of the road. And now they were stuck there, just across from a brightly lit restaurant.

Things could have been worse, Marley thought. They could be stuck on a highway without any light source. Or phone. And then they'd be stuck out here forever.

"Try the key again." Marley ordered, hitting the boot of the car. It popped open and Marley jumped back in fright, her green skirt flying upwards. She pulled it down as quickly as possible and slammed the boot shut. "Did it work?" She asked, tracing her finger along the side of the convertible as she walked to the driver's seat.

"No," Kitty sighed, leaning her head back. "Seems like we're stuck here."

Marley groaned quietly and rubbed her head. "I'll find a payphone and call Mom." She shrugged and looked over at the bright restaurant and the cars crowding the entrance. "Maybe they have one there."

"Probably," Kitty whispered, standing up on the leather seats and jumping over the door, not bothering to open it. "Let's go see, though, Marls. There might be cute boys." Kitty winked at Marley and pulled her high pony out.

Marley nodded with a nervous smile. Talking to cute boys was something she really had problems with and really, she never did that before. She was more of the 'keep to yourself' type.

"Ready?" Kitty said, fluffing up her hair and checking her fluro orange nails. Marley nodded nervously and bent over to pull up her socks to her knees. She tightened the thin strap of her shoes by pulling on the buckle and stood up straight again.

"Ready." Marley nodded nervously and pulled down her skirt once more. She did that when she was nervous. And although short skirts were so totally in, Marley always felt uncomfortable in them.

"Alright, let's go!" Kitty jumped up and grabbed Marley's hand. She pulled her across the road and into the parking lot of the restaurant.

Marley darted through the fancy cars and admired the paint work on every single one of them – they looked so much better than her car. Kitty tugged Marley into the building and pushed open the small double doors.

Inside, music was echoing around the room and people were seated at different booths and tables, talking and laughing whilst eating. "I don't mind it here." Kitty smiled, gazing around the room and smiling at all of the boys. Tonight, some serious flirting would be done.

Marley was kind of dreading it, though – she didn't flirt with anybody. Hell, she'd never been in a damn relationship because she was too shy. Perhaps tonight was the night to get a date. Marley heavily doubted it, though. She was Marley Rose – would she really ever get a date?

"Oh, hot guys over to left. See you later, babe." Kitty grinned, nudging Marley's arm before darting over to the group of boys in the corner of the restaurant. Marley sighed and shook her head – she was alone now.

Marley looked around awkwardly before walking with her head down to a small booth near the bathrooms. It was empty and with the seat over here, she figured no one would bother her. Not like she really wanted it that way, but she was so frightened about talking to boys that she doubted she could do it.

She sat with her head down, stray strands of her hair falling in front of her face. She distracted herself by touching her hair and picking at her fingernails.

She was pretty certain half an hour had passed when someone stood at the end of her table, making it rock slightly. Marley looked up from her nails and saw a tall brunette boy standing over her, smiling. "Hey." He smiled with a nod.

Marley felt everything inside of her twist and turn. Her face turned bright red as she muttered, "Hello," to the boy standing above her. He was so handsome – with dark and beautiful eyes, flawless skin and such kissable lips.

_Why's he over here, though? _Marley thought to herself. _Why would he need to talk to me?_

"Mind if I sit?" He smiled, signaling to the seat across from her. Marley took her feet down from the leather chair and gave a polite smile. The boy fell into his seat and smoothed back his hair. "I'm Ryder." He held his hand out, waiting for Marley to take it.

"M-M-Marley." She stuttered, blushing bright red. Her eyes went wide as she took his hand in hers. It felt like an electric shock running through her body. Why was he having this effect on her?

"Beautiful name." Ryder whispered, looking down at the table bashfully and tracing his finger over the lines on the table. Marley watched and thought about the electric shock before… why did she get that feeling with this boy? It was a mystery to her. "I saw you sitting all alone over here and thought you might need some company."

"Thanks." Marley said quickly, anxiously chewing on her lip. Ryder bit his lip, too and stared right into Marley's blue eyes with his brown ones. She felt her heart race.

Why was the cute boy talking to her anyway?

"You're too pretty to be sitting alone in here." Ryder scanned her face up and down as it turned an even deeper shade of red. Marley hid her face in her hands, embarrassed. She wished she could just run out of the room and hide in the broken down car or something. Or maybe just run to her house and never come out again? That sounded like a good idea.

Ryder gave a little laugh (one that made Marley's heart pound even harder) before he gave her arm a bit of a nudge. Shivers ran through her arm. "So Marley, want kind of music do you like?" Ryder asked quickly, attempting to make conversation.

Marley slowly lifted her face from her hands, wiping at her flustered cheeks. She just wanted to know so desperately why Ryder was talking to her. He was cute and she wasn't – why?

She wanted to ask him, but she didn't know what to say. She couldn't even respond about what music she liked so she just shrugged in reply. She wanted to say so much but she just couldn't. Nerves.

"Come on," Ryder smiled. "There has to be some kind of music you like."

"I don't know." Marley replied, unsure. She knew what kind of music she liked, but she was just too nervous to tell them to Ryder. What if he judged her or something? What if he told her her taste in music was terrible?

"The Beatles, perhaps?" Ryder smiled, raising an eyebrow. Marley's smile brightened and she stared right at Ryder, nodding frantically.

"I love The Beatles!" She whispered loudly, clasping her hands together and holding her hands up to her mouth. So far, so good… but Ryder could still turn on her; he could still suddenly decide she was weird and insult her.

"You seem like the type." Ryder smiled, tracing the cracks in the wooden table again.

"Because I'm a girl?" Marley smirked, raising her eyebrows curiously at the boy. She licked her lips as she admired Ryder's face – he was actually so so cute!

"No, that's not the reason." Ryder shook his head and looked back up at her, catching her staring right at him. He looked away the next second, almost embarrassed to have looked right into her eyes. "I don't know, you seem like the type."

"I like them a lot." Marley smiled to herself, looking down at her hands, now resting on the table. She couldn't help but think of the ripped cardboard posters on her walls of the Beatles.

"I like them, too, you know." Ryder smiled, finally glancing at Marley again. "I'm actually like, obsessed."

"You? Obsessed?" Marley let out a quiet laugh. "You really don't seem like the type to be obsessed with The Beatles." Marley wondered where her sudden confidence had come from but she was enjoying the feeling of it – she was actually beginning to talk to the boy in front of her. _The cute boy._

"Well I am – and there's nothing you can do about it." Ryder reached his hand across and nudged hers lightly.

"Okay, okay, you're obsessed with The Beatles… so am I." She whispered with a small sheepish smile.

"I knew that I made a good choice coming to talk to you." Ryder grinned, wriggling in his seat and sitting up straighter. His smile was wide and contagious – Marley couldn't help but let her smile grow.

"Why did you come and talk to me anyway?" Marley asked, shaking her head at him. She looked over at the little menu towards her left and took it off of its stand, playing with it in her hands.

"Because you're pretty and alone. I think that's enough of a reason to come talk to you." Ryder whispered, reaching his hand out and putting it over her two hands, stopping her from fiddling with the cardboard menu. "And plus, you looked kind of bored. So I thought I'd brightened up the place for you."

"Thanks. I think you're really handsome as well, just so you know. You're also really nice…" Marley smiled as sweetly as possible at Ryder and battered her eyelashes.

"Thanks, too. Um," Ryder looked down at the golden watch on his wrist and bit his lip, "We can go catch a movie at the drive in really quickly, Marley? Do you um, want to go with me? It's _Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, _I think. I mean, you don't have to-"

"I'd love to." Marley replied coolly, shrugging her shoulders. She seriously couldn't believe this was happening! A Boy was asking her to the movies!

"Great." Ryder smiled, sliding out of his seat and holding his hand out. Marley reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling herself out of the seat. "Let's go."

"Thanks for this Ryder." Marley whispered, walking out of the restaurant with her new crush. This couldn't be happening – Marley was going to the movies with a boy! Things seriously could not have gotten better at all.

{x}

**_Ryley Week is now officially over! Hope it was an okay end to this! Do you think there will be another Ryley Week another year? Oh dear God I hope so. Hope you liked the final day and the whole collection of fics. Thank you for reviewing and all of those things. I love you all and I really hope you liked this final part! Ryder and Marley in the 60's has something I've imagined for a while actually :)_**

**_-Camryn x_**


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